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So Enhypen just came back with their new mini album, BORDER: CARNIVAL. [cue crazy screaming]
I've been resisting the urge to yell about it for the past half day and now that I have a little break before chemistry lecture starts, I can sit down and actually digest this album in its entirety, which I am very excited about.
A few notes:
1. I am NOT a music expert. Sure, I play instruments and have sang a Lot over the years, but I have no experience when it comes to music production or terms to describe sound, other than saying how it makes me feel. I am the person in music who embraced "fake it till you make it" to the farthest limits; I somehow made it all the way to the highest level choir in high school without knowing how to sight read (which was a qualification for entry into said choir). Do not take my music "terminology" seriously.
2. That's pretty much it. Please do not flame me. I Am Engene, I Promise.
Intro: The Invitation
I love how Enha uses the intro and outro to start and end a chapter (?) in their discography. BigHit/HyBe/WhateverTheFuck likes to incorporate storylines into their discography, and while I usually hate the sharing of concepts between groups in the same company (BTS did it, TXT is doing it, etc etc), it fits them to a T and i'm not mad about it at all. Also: Jake Sim is a lovely human being and I hope he becomes a voice actor so more people are exposed to that brown sugar syrup voice of his. I could go on for Hours about his voice and how he sounds like a fairy tale narrator at the tender age of 18 but I run the risk of wasting time so NEXT SONG!
Drunk-Dazed
This song is an absolute banger. I mean literally. I heard it for the first time this morning (I watched the music video for it) and proceeded to hit my head on my pillow for a grand total of 5 minutes. The line distribution is so much better for Drunk-Dazed than Given-Taken (their last title track), and you get to hear a lot of the members showcase their voice at a key that suits them and maxes out their voice's potential. For example, I had no idea Sunghoon could sound like that when he sang his first line; his voice is actually much smoother and almost luxurious, in a sense? His voice has the same feeling I get when I get into bed and my comforter touches my freshly shaved and lotion soaked legs.
I also feel that because the background music is so brash and full of elements, it takes away some of the bite that the members' voices have. Jungwon, for example, has a really nice voice, but it has this buzz to the back of it, almost nasally at some points. I'm not sure if that's just how his voice is, but it could also be because he's very young and his voice hasn't fully developed yet. But in Drunk-Dazed, the buzz that I picked up on in the other songs is a little more subdued, due to the loud background music. It also may be just because he's singing at a lower key and he isn't straining his voice as much. Either way, it's a riot of a song but it's catchy as hell and I will be listening to it once ever 15 minutes for self care.
Fever
Ohhhhh shit.The song definitely takes some inspiration from rnb, and it's definitely in the same vein sound wise as Hush byThe Boyz. Heeseung, Jake and Niki have the perfect voice for this song, especially Jake: his voice is already very smooth and stable at a higher key, so hearing him at a lower key is Perfect, in my opinion. I think they should capitalize on this sound, everyone's vocals suit this style a lot more than the Seventeen-esque thing they got going on in Drunk-Dazed.
I think the dark horse of this entire song is Sunoo, though. His lower register is SCARY good, and coupled with how he handles high notes, he's the entire package when it comes to his vocals. I know Heeseung is considered the ace of the group, but Sunoo is really giving him a run for his money, at least vocally. It'll be scary to see his development as he grows older and his voice rounds out, along with the amount of improvement he will most likely make through the years.
Mixing wise, I really like it.. It's a little more exposed than Drunk-Dazed, and the little drumset thing keeping the beat in the back of the song is really nice... It's got a bit of a cafe concert vibe to it, replete with microphone stands and wooden accents. Don't ask me to elaborate on this because I truly can't. I haven't gotten through the entire album yet but this might be my favorite Enhypen song to date (Flicker, I'm so sorry).
Not For Sale
I've seen so many clips of Jake performing this song on my timeline, and from what I could tell this is in the same vein as 10 Months. And I wasn't wrong!
This song is SOOOO cute, from the lyrics to the beat and the instrumentals in the back. It seriously sounds like falling in love for the first time... It's definitely more sentimental than 10 Months, that's for sure. Upon second and third listen, it sounds like if you went on a cruise and you met someone on the ship at the under 21 club and started crushing on them over virgin pina coladas. Cue a relationship that lasts for 2 weeks and involves your families meeting at the beach, weird inquisitions into poolside pizza, and an extremely tearful yet awkward farewell when you dock back on shore in Miami or something.
I think this song showcased everyone's vocals, but the real star was Jay. I don't know why, but his voice really fit this song.. You'd expect Sunoo to be more well suited for this song but something about hearing Jay sing at a higher key makes my heart swell like a proud mother when her kid gets first place at a track meet. 10/10. Will be adding it to the workout playlist I compile when I make going to the gym an actual habit.
Mixed Up
OH THIS IS MY SHIT. THIS IS SO DAMN GOOD HELLO.
That was my first thought when I heard this song, and it's true! I usually love songs with this kind of mixing and the little cymbal beats in the back. It's really fast paced as well, and while I usually don't like those songs, I feel like this tempo and this general song structure really benefit Enhypen as a whole; for such a young group, they did a really good job on this. Also, whoever is doing the Seungsik Flip A Coin-Esque adlibs in the back, you have my whole heart.
I don't really have a favorite member on this track, simply because all of them sing at a higher key for a good chunk of this song, and I've already heard that from them before. I'm actually excited for their voices to mature, because I know they would really take a song like this to the next level when they have more substance behind their voices (I'm not saying they don't have substance already. It's just a given that they will develop more color over the years).
This will also be going into my nonexistent workout playlist. Hybe should really get into the Zumba business with the amount of workout tracks they're producing.
Outro: The Wormhole
And we're back at it again with a storyline! I need to really analyze what Jake's saying, but it almost feels like a combination of BTS's Love Yourself concept and TXT's whole fairytale and alternate dimension vibes, especially because Jake mentioned something about multiple dimensions and a world where day and night coexist.
Also this man quoted SHAKESPEARE. SONNET 43. He quite literally said "thy fair imperfect shade through heavy sleep on sightless doth eyes stay", which is a line that pertains to dreams and a certain Fair Youth, which if I remember correctly, signifies this very androgynous man with feminine qualities that the writer likes to wax poetic about.
Needless to say, any sonnet that has the Fair Youth in it is kinda gay. Scratch that, very gay. Remember Haknyeon's sonnet in the Make Your Own video? Yep, another Fair Youth sonnet.. And I'm pretty sure the entirety of stan Twitter agreed that Haknyeon reading a sonnet about being gay in a middle of a church with a crown of thorns on his head was one of the ballsiest moves that Creker's ever done.
But I digress. I'm getting the feeling that this comeback has to do with chasing dreams (obviously) and the group discovering something about themselves, or maybe seeing a different side of themselves, as expressed by Jake saying he sees a different version of him in a mirror. Knowing Enhypen, they will probably continue this kind of stuff in the next comeback... And I have a feeling the next comeback's title track is going to be something like TXT's Blue Hour. I will come back to this when the comeback inevitably happens and we will see if I'm correct or not.
All in all, I liked the album; a solid 8/10! Enhypen's still a pretty young group, so I'm not really that upset that they don't have a sound that is theirs only; that kind of development takes time and a good understanding of the Kpop industry itself. They are really well rounded as a group, but even as an avid listener of them I won't deny that they have tons of space left for growth and balance. And that, again, takes time. I'm really excited to see what they come up with next, and I can't wait for the development that will come along with it.
But for now, I will be listening to Fever and Mixed Up on loop while I do schoolwork. I may go crazy but at least I won't get as batshit off the rails as TikTok Engenes.
I've been resisting the urge to yell about it for the past half day and now that I have a little break before chemistry lecture starts, I can sit down and actually digest this album in its entirety, which I am very excited about.
A few notes:
1. I am NOT a music expert. Sure, I play instruments and have sang a Lot over the years, but I have no experience when it comes to music production or terms to describe sound, other than saying how it makes me feel. I am the person in music who embraced "fake it till you make it" to the farthest limits; I somehow made it all the way to the highest level choir in high school without knowing how to sight read (which was a qualification for entry into said choir). Do not take my music "terminology" seriously.
2. That's pretty much it. Please do not flame me. I Am Engene, I Promise.
Intro: The Invitation
I love how Enha uses the intro and outro to start and end a chapter (?) in their discography. BigHit/HyBe/WhateverTheFuck likes to incorporate storylines into their discography, and while I usually hate the sharing of concepts between groups in the same company (BTS did it, TXT is doing it, etc etc), it fits them to a T and i'm not mad about it at all. Also: Jake Sim is a lovely human being and I hope he becomes a voice actor so more people are exposed to that brown sugar syrup voice of his. I could go on for Hours about his voice and how he sounds like a fairy tale narrator at the tender age of 18 but I run the risk of wasting time so NEXT SONG!
Drunk-Dazed
This song is an absolute banger. I mean literally. I heard it for the first time this morning (I watched the music video for it) and proceeded to hit my head on my pillow for a grand total of 5 minutes. The line distribution is so much better for Drunk-Dazed than Given-Taken (their last title track), and you get to hear a lot of the members showcase their voice at a key that suits them and maxes out their voice's potential. For example, I had no idea Sunghoon could sound like that when he sang his first line; his voice is actually much smoother and almost luxurious, in a sense? His voice has the same feeling I get when I get into bed and my comforter touches my freshly shaved and lotion soaked legs.
I also feel that because the background music is so brash and full of elements, it takes away some of the bite that the members' voices have. Jungwon, for example, has a really nice voice, but it has this buzz to the back of it, almost nasally at some points. I'm not sure if that's just how his voice is, but it could also be because he's very young and his voice hasn't fully developed yet. But in Drunk-Dazed, the buzz that I picked up on in the other songs is a little more subdued, due to the loud background music. It also may be just because he's singing at a lower key and he isn't straining his voice as much. Either way, it's a riot of a song but it's catchy as hell and I will be listening to it once ever 15 minutes for self care.
Fever
Ohhhhh shit.The song definitely takes some inspiration from rnb, and it's definitely in the same vein sound wise as Hush byThe Boyz. Heeseung, Jake and Niki have the perfect voice for this song, especially Jake: his voice is already very smooth and stable at a higher key, so hearing him at a lower key is Perfect, in my opinion. I think they should capitalize on this sound, everyone's vocals suit this style a lot more than the Seventeen-esque thing they got going on in Drunk-Dazed.
I think the dark horse of this entire song is Sunoo, though. His lower register is SCARY good, and coupled with how he handles high notes, he's the entire package when it comes to his vocals. I know Heeseung is considered the ace of the group, but Sunoo is really giving him a run for his money, at least vocally. It'll be scary to see his development as he grows older and his voice rounds out, along with the amount of improvement he will most likely make through the years.
Mixing wise, I really like it.. It's a little more exposed than Drunk-Dazed, and the little drumset thing keeping the beat in the back of the song is really nice... It's got a bit of a cafe concert vibe to it, replete with microphone stands and wooden accents. Don't ask me to elaborate on this because I truly can't. I haven't gotten through the entire album yet but this might be my favorite Enhypen song to date (Flicker, I'm so sorry).
Not For Sale
I've seen so many clips of Jake performing this song on my timeline, and from what I could tell this is in the same vein as 10 Months. And I wasn't wrong!
This song is SOOOO cute, from the lyrics to the beat and the instrumentals in the back. It seriously sounds like falling in love for the first time... It's definitely more sentimental than 10 Months, that's for sure. Upon second and third listen, it sounds like if you went on a cruise and you met someone on the ship at the under 21 club and started crushing on them over virgin pina coladas. Cue a relationship that lasts for 2 weeks and involves your families meeting at the beach, weird inquisitions into poolside pizza, and an extremely tearful yet awkward farewell when you dock back on shore in Miami or something.
I think this song showcased everyone's vocals, but the real star was Jay. I don't know why, but his voice really fit this song.. You'd expect Sunoo to be more well suited for this song but something about hearing Jay sing at a higher key makes my heart swell like a proud mother when her kid gets first place at a track meet. 10/10. Will be adding it to the workout playlist I compile when I make going to the gym an actual habit.
Mixed Up
OH THIS IS MY SHIT. THIS IS SO DAMN GOOD HELLO.
That was my first thought when I heard this song, and it's true! I usually love songs with this kind of mixing and the little cymbal beats in the back. It's really fast paced as well, and while I usually don't like those songs, I feel like this tempo and this general song structure really benefit Enhypen as a whole; for such a young group, they did a really good job on this. Also, whoever is doing the Seungsik Flip A Coin-Esque adlibs in the back, you have my whole heart.
I don't really have a favorite member on this track, simply because all of them sing at a higher key for a good chunk of this song, and I've already heard that from them before. I'm actually excited for their voices to mature, because I know they would really take a song like this to the next level when they have more substance behind their voices (I'm not saying they don't have substance already. It's just a given that they will develop more color over the years).
This will also be going into my nonexistent workout playlist. Hybe should really get into the Zumba business with the amount of workout tracks they're producing.
Outro: The Wormhole
And we're back at it again with a storyline! I need to really analyze what Jake's saying, but it almost feels like a combination of BTS's Love Yourself concept and TXT's whole fairytale and alternate dimension vibes, especially because Jake mentioned something about multiple dimensions and a world where day and night coexist.
Also this man quoted SHAKESPEARE. SONNET 43. He quite literally said "thy fair imperfect shade through heavy sleep on sightless doth eyes stay", which is a line that pertains to dreams and a certain Fair Youth, which if I remember correctly, signifies this very androgynous man with feminine qualities that the writer likes to wax poetic about.
Needless to say, any sonnet that has the Fair Youth in it is kinda gay. Scratch that, very gay. Remember Haknyeon's sonnet in the Make Your Own video? Yep, another Fair Youth sonnet.. And I'm pretty sure the entirety of stan Twitter agreed that Haknyeon reading a sonnet about being gay in a middle of a church with a crown of thorns on his head was one of the ballsiest moves that Creker's ever done.
But I digress. I'm getting the feeling that this comeback has to do with chasing dreams (obviously) and the group discovering something about themselves, or maybe seeing a different side of themselves, as expressed by Jake saying he sees a different version of him in a mirror. Knowing Enhypen, they will probably continue this kind of stuff in the next comeback... And I have a feeling the next comeback's title track is going to be something like TXT's Blue Hour. I will come back to this when the comeback inevitably happens and we will see if I'm correct or not.
All in all, I liked the album; a solid 8/10! Enhypen's still a pretty young group, so I'm not really that upset that they don't have a sound that is theirs only; that kind of development takes time and a good understanding of the Kpop industry itself. They are really well rounded as a group, but even as an avid listener of them I won't deny that they have tons of space left for growth and balance. And that, again, takes time. I'm really excited to see what they come up with next, and I can't wait for the development that will come along with it.
But for now, I will be listening to Fever and Mixed Up on loop while I do schoolwork. I may go crazy but at least I won't get as batshit off the rails as TikTok Engenes.
